Armored vehicles may include a rotatable turret and a weapon mounted to the turret for use in military operations. To assist the turret operator in rotating the turret, a controlled drive system may be installed in the armored vehicle. The drive system may include a motor that drives rotation of the turret and a controller that provides instructions to the motor. For example, the controller may instruct the motor to rotate the turret clockwise or counterclockwise depending on input from the turret operator.
Controllers for vehicle turrets may control various aspects of turret rotation, e.g., rotational speed. However, many of these aspects of turret rotation are fixed at the controller upon manufacture, and modification in the field may prove to be difficult. Individual turret operators may have different preferences regarding turret rotation. Additionally, the particular circumstances of military operations may necessitate vehicle turrets having different rotational characteristics. Thus, there exists a need for controllers of vehicle turrets where the aspects of turret rotation may be modified and customized in the field.
Further, in some circumstances, diagnosing performance issues with known controllers of vehicle turrets and turret drive systems may proceed in a trial-and-error fashion. Service personnel may inspect and test individual components of the controlled turret drive system to isolate a problem. Such an approach is costly and time consuming. Thus, there also exists a need for a controller of a vehicle turret that allows service personnel to quickly and easily identify performance issues of controlled turret drive systems.